Birmingham Mourns Legendary Attorney J. Mason Davis

0:00Birmingham lost a giant this week, with the passing of Jay Mason Davis, a top attorney and civil rights trailblazer at 90 years old. Born in Birmingham back in 1935, he navigated segregated schools, earned top honors at Talladega College, and graduated from the state. University of New York School of Law, even making the law review. He kicked off his practice in Birmingham in 1960, defending students in those landmark Huntsville lunch counter-citizens of 19. 61 and 62, winning every appeal at the Court of Appeals and pushing desegregation forward. Davis broke barriers as the first African-American president of the Birmingham Bar Association in 1984, taught as the first minority, adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law for 25 years, and chaired the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce plus the United Way of Central Alabama. Students and groups like the Magic City Bar Association are mourning deeply, celebrating

1:00how his work reshaped Alabama and will keep inspiring folks. For generations ahead, stay informed with Birmingham News Today, AI-powered updates.